


ball and chain

by jongdaesang (d10smessi)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Humor, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 22:14:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15058940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d10smessi/pseuds/jongdaesang
Summary: “i’m not proposing something illegal, chanyeol!” baekhyun says vehemently.chanyeol shakes his head, deadpans, “you’re just proposing.”(what everyone needs to remember is that everything is jongdae’s fault which, in retrospect, should be the disclaimer of chanyeol’s entire life.)





	ball and chain

**Author's Note:**

> first time writing chanbaek so i'm a lil nervous!!!!
> 
> unbeta-ed.

ok so, chanyeol’s 25 and he’s in his last year in a five-year program. he’s old—he’s _ancient_. he’s seen shit, you know? he’s old enough to own up to his habit of blaming jongdae for everything.

 

but that is one of the perks of living with your best friend of, like, eighteen years. 

 

(he thinks it’s 18 years. he’s not really counting the first two years of preschool wherein he used to hate jongdae so much that even their teachers were surprised. anyway, that too is jongdae’s fault.)

 

if the water heater is not working, it’s because of jongdae’s affinity for taking really long and really hot showers. if the milk suddenly goes bad before its expiry date, it’s because of jongdae’s habit of drinking straight out of the carton. if chanyeol drops a mug, he’ll find a way to connect it to jongdae’s heterosexuality. 

 

much like this one—it’s because jongdae’s heterosexual that chanyeol is in this mess.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

what everyone needs to remember is that everything is jongdae’s fault which, in retrospect, should be the disclaimer of chanyeol’s entire life.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

the story begins like this: chanyeol’s fresh out of high school and he gets the two-year military enlistment out of the way before university. it’s pretty—well, it’s _not pretty._ the training is shit. the food is shit. chanyeol feels like shit, most of the times. but well, it’s not like he can bend the law. he’s not an ultra famous idol or something. 

 

so he's in the military and, like, it’s shit and all but that’s where he also meets byun baekhyun.

 

baekhyun’s funny, is chanyeol’s first thought. the first thing that comes out of baekhyun’s mouth is _“wow, you’re tall_.” the second is a “ _and your ears are so big!”_ the third thing to come out of baekhyun’s mouth is a big smile and it’s rectangular-shaped too, what the hell.

 

they hit it off instantly. chanyeol huffs indignantly and jabs a solid into baekhyun’s solar plexus. they end up in a giggling fit before finding out that they’re planning to go to the same university in seoul. he finds out that baekhyun’s from the same hometown as jongdae (who’s assigned in a different department so _boo_ ) and he figures maybe this is, like, the fated friendship of his life. 

 

they finish their military service and he introduces baekhyun to jongdae. baekhyun and jongdae stick to each other like gum to hair or whatever weird disgusting thing sticks to another. maybe leeches—though he’s not sure which one of them will be the parasite. maybe they can both be the parasite while chanyeol is the gracious host. 

 

jongdae suggests they room together in one flat. and it sounds natural to just get this nice one-bedroom apartment near their campus because they’re all going to the same one, like fate. jongdae and chanyeol gets a bunk bed and baekhyun, bless him, prefers a thick floor mattress than actual bed frames. besides, the place comes with a nice flat screen tv. 

 

living together is easy. they fight, sure, but they haven’t traded blows yet. mostly because baekhyun has a black belt in hapkido and jongdae and he are too much of scaredy cats. chanyeol, privately, knows it’s because he’s just weak to baekhyun. like, as a friend. 

 

two bros, right?

 

or chanyeol supposes they could have been except he’s, like, 6’2” and gay—emphasis on _gay_.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

the _real_ story begins like this: jongdae is making a big pot of ramen while baekhyun and chanyeol sit at the table. chanyeol’s chair wobbles because none of them can and want to afford a replacement and none of them can fix the leg. 

 

(jongin, who is kyungsoo’s—baekhyun’s best friend—boyfriend, can but the guy’s been too busy being an overachieving political science major.)

 

chanyeol only hopes that baekhyun has never noticed the fact that he never fails to offer baekhyun the _okay_ seat. 

 

he’s finishing up an e-mail to his public policy group when jongdae sets the pot in the middle of their tiny circular table before he takes his own seat. almost five years of living together have gotten the three of them immune to each others’ germs and bacteria so none of them really bother with getting individual bowls. 

 

at least, they’re all considerate enough to take pity on whoever is assigned doing the dishes (baekhyun, tonight). chanyeol instantly stirs the pot and baekhyun digs in as well. chanyeol exchanges a look with baekhyun and the older male’s eyebrows go up a little, before they wiggle. 

 

chanyeol knows what that means so he instantly starts fishing around for the dumplings in the pot. he finds—

 

“two?” he asks, confused and maybe a little frustrated. ramyun is nice, really, but five days in a row and the only thing that’s keeping chanyeol going is the dumplings in them.

 

“we have nothing else,” jongdae deadpans. he looks dejected as fuck, staring like a dead man at the pot in front of him.

 

“why do we only have two?” baekhyun asks. he takes the dumpling and drops it back before grabbing his spoon. he takes the first sip of the soup and jongdae follows suit. chanyeol is still stuck at the part where they only have two pieces of dumplings left.

 

“should we buy more?” chanyeol offers. “i could go to the store tomorrow. i got a free class so…”

 

“ah,” baekhyun groans. “i have something i need to pay for and i’m not sure how much i can contribute to groceries.”

 

“shit, me too.” jongdae frowns. “you know i’m still paying for that semester exchange i did in tokyo.”

 

how can chanyeol forget? the one-sided sexual tension between him and baekhyun when jongdae left the country has reduced him to actual literal drunken tears on kyungsoo’s lap as jongin laughs and takes a video of the entire thing.

 

“uh—well,” chanyeol rubs the back of his nape. “i mean… i think i can bu—wait.” chanyeol groans as well. “i have this thing, too. fuck.”

 

“we’re fucked,” baekhyun mourns dejectedly.

 

“we’re _really_ fucked,” jongdae says before he takes his chopsticks to begin eating. chanyeol shrugs and slowly begins to eat too. it’s not like they’re any less dead if he does not eat the ramyun. 

 

come to think of it, there seems to be less egg than usual in the pot.

 

they finish their meal quickly enough (chanyeol gives the dumpling to jongdae, because he’s an angel who has cooked the meal, and to baekhyun, because he’s, like, in _like_ with the guy) and baekhyun heads to the sink to wash the pot and their utensils. none of them has spoken except for when jongdae rambles on about his shitty economics professor and how he’s demanding a paper in the next 24 hours. 

 

chanyeol peeks and sees baekhyun removing the bright pink rubber gloves they all wear when doing the dishes. chanyeol calls out, “hey, baek! grab me a beer, will ya?”

 

baekhyun makes a noise of agreement and jongdae adds a “me too, b. thanks!”

 

the oldest of the three goes to their tiny fridge and when the door swings open, he makes a sound of—chanyeol can’t place it, really. it’s the first time he’s heard baekhyun sound like this. like, someone has died. 

 

“we only have one can of beer,” baekhyun says in horror. 

 

jongdae makes a distressed noise before he squeaks, “oh my god. we’re all dead.”

 

that seems to open up a whole can of problems. from two dumplings to one can of beer, chanyeol suddenly says, “i need to find a way to pay my tuition next semester.”

 

“holy shit—what?” baekhyun rushes back to the table with the one can of beer. he has it opened and he gives it to chanyeol instantly, like chanyeol needs it at the moment. 

 

well, he does so he gets a good chug out of it before placing the can in the middle of the table—an open invitation for anyone to just drink because _they only have one can of beer_.

 

“i’m fucked,” chanyeol closes his eyes. he doesn’t really want to talk about it this soon but this scenario of not being able to afford groceries has him remembering that maybe, in his last semester, he will not even be able to afford to _breathe_ in their university campus.

 

“dude, what the hell, why?” jongdae, ever so eloquent, gripes. 

 

“yeah, well,” chanyeol shrugs. “shit happens. i mean, i’m not gonna stop, of course. but, like, i might need to get another job. or two. or a loan.”

 

baekhyun frowns and chanyeol is in Deep Shit but he figures he can afford to find baekhyun cute, at that moment. his brows furrow when he frowns and his nose scrunches a little and chanyeol, broke and in Deep Shit as he is, is very much in like with him. 

 

“but yeol,” baekhyun says softly, tenderly. and oh shit, chanyeol knows that voice. that’s baekhyun being sensible but also sensitive to other people. “you can barely handle one job this semester and next sem, you’re gonna juggle your thesis _and_ your research paper for your minor.”

 

chanyeol groans once more. he really hates it when baekhyun makes sense. 

 

“i have an idea,” jongdae suddenly speaks up. the two of them quiet down as jongdae picks the beer can up. he takes a nice, long swig and chanyeol wants to cuff jongdae at the temples because what the fuck is the cliffhanger for, really?

 

“what is it?” baekhyun asks, impatient. chanyeol’s heart warms at the thought that baekhyun is concerned about him enough. as friends, but chanyeol will get what he can get. 

 

“you know the university offers special financial aid to _special situations_?” jongdae wiggles his eyebrows and chanyeol has no idea what the eyebrow wiggle is for. 

 

“and what do you mean by special situations?” chanyeol asks carefully. the last time jongdae has looked like _that_ , the three of them ended up on the other end of the korean peninsula, with no money and only two and a half pairs of shoes between the three of them.

 

jongin’s the one who makes the almost six hour drive to pick them up with kyungsoo sitting beside him wrapped like a burrito with a thick blanket and eyeing the three of them like they’re way below the dirt on his own shoes. 

 

so, chanyeol is appropriately worried because jongdae, as a disclaimer, is to be blamed for most of the shit in his life.

 

“well, for things like _accidents—_ ”

 

“wait,” chanyeol raises his hand in a stop motion. “are you thinking of injuring me, asshole?”

 

“no—what the fuck, dude!” jongdae glares. “i’m thinking of marriage.”

 

“what,” chanyeol says.

 

“what,” baekhyun says,

 

this time, it’s chanyeol who is glaring. he grabs the beer and takes a long sip before turning a sharp glance at the younger man.

 

“elaborate,” he orders firmly in a voice that jongdae, in all his heterosexual glory, has described as _daddy—no homo but full maybe if i’m_ really _curious_.

 

“if you get married, you can apply for financial support from the students' aid office and they, like, give you a monthly stipend and a 50% tuition discount.”

 

chanyeol does the math quickly. 50% discount is a lot of money and with the stipend and one job, maybe they can even afford decent food everyday and not just during the week after they get paid. with the right budgeting, maybe he can even save.

 

one thing, though—

 

“i’m not in a relationship,” chanyeol kindly points it out. 

 

“you don’t have to be in a relationship to get married, idiot,” jongdae retorts back. 

 

“you’re suggesting i commit fraud,” chanyeol replies. “stop being stupid, jongdae.”

 

“you’re stupid,” jongdae gets back. he even sticks his tongue out and chanyeol makes a face before replying, “your face is stupid,” like the mature half-50 year old that he is. 

 

before it can even evolve in to a war of name-calling the door opens and a call of, “what did i tell you guys about locking your door?” comes from the entryway.

 

chanyeol perks up, and so do jongdae and baekhyun (who has turned very quiet, chanyeol notes).

 

“kyungsoo!” baekhyun is the first to shoot out of the seat to welcome their beaming visitor and engulf the smaller man into a huge hug. jongdae and chanyeol exchange bro fists with jongin and hug kyungsoo (because kyungsoo is too classy for shit like bro fists).

 

“i made too much food,” kyungsoo says as he lifts the paper bag in his grip.

 

“thank you, god and kyungsoo,” jongdae almost cries.

 

when they open the plastic containers, chanyeol almost weeps at the sight of stir fried pork and vegetables and chinese fried rice. jongdae _does_ weep while baekhyun showers kyungsoo with kissy faces.

 

supposedly, the discussion of marriage of convenience should have ended like this: with jongin manspreading on the sofa and kyungsoo puttering around their apartment in search of the television remote while the three occupants of the room pretend that none of them are crying because of real food.

 

but, well, chanyeol might have been the unluckiest homosexual in the history of homosexuality. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“baekhyun, what,” chanyeol deadpans. 

 

the two of them are in the living room and chanyeol is sitting on the couch, watching netflix on their tv. (the pinnacle of college life is paying for netflix but not being able to buy food.) and baekhyun is looking up at chanyeol with imploring eyes and a slight quirk of his pretty mouth that chanyeol really, _really_ wants to kiss.

 

“i said what i said,” baekhyun has the audacity to sing-song as if he’s not proposing—

 

“are you proposing to fool the government, the university, and the entire world?”

 

“when you put it like that,” baekhyun trails off. he bites his plush bottom lip and he moves his head just a little from where it is resting on chanyeol’s thigh. chanyeol tries hard not to think too much about baekhyun’s face being less than a foot away from his dick. 

 

“i’m not proposing something illegal, chanyeol!” baekhyun says vehemently.

 

chanyeol shakes his head, deadpans, “you’re just proposing.”

 

surprisingly, baekhyun blushes. chanyeol tries not to read too much into it. yes, he’s 6’2” and gay but baekhyun is, like, 5’8” (he tells people he’s 5’9” but no one believes him unless he’s standing next to kyungsoo, who’s 5’6” probably)—

 

anyway, baekhyun’s 5’8” and _straight_. emphasis on _straight_. 

 

the biggest tragedy of chanyeol’s homosexual life is byun baekhyun being straight and chanyeol knows this with the ache of a heavy heart because baekhyun has a girlfriend last year. 

 

there is even that one time, chanyeol will never forget this, when baekhyun, who’s out somewhere, has sent chanyeol a text that just says ‘ _i’ll let you suck my dick._ ’ he also remembers freezing up about it, convincing himself that it’s not real and baekhyun’s probably drunk as hell at one in the morning. and chanyeol does not need to convince himself because byun baekhyun quickly adds an ‘ _oops sorry wrong send_ ’ and chanyeol crashes so hard.

 

(as hard as his dick, he’s brave enough to admit that. and well, chanyeol jerks off to that single sentence for a solid seven minutes in the shower and he only vaguely feels guilty afterwards as _i’ll let you suck my dick_ is saved in his spank bank.)

 

“come on, chanyeol,” baekhyun urges him like the little devil that he is. it’s not only jongdae that’s full of bad ideas. chanyeol, compared to the other two, is an angel. he’s only, like, a devil by association. “it’s the perfect plan. we get married and you apply for financial aid. _boom_ —we get real food and maybe a new playstation game.”

 

baekhyun sounds so convincing when he puts it like that. it’s not helping that he’s looking up at chanyeol with those eyes—those eyes that chanyeol likes so much. there’s a slight pout on his thin mouth and he’s weak enough to admit that if baekhyun, maybe, gets down on one knee and asks, he’ll say yes.

 

in fact, if baekhyun tries hard enough, he can probably convince chanyeol to a life of crime. what the fuck ever, it’s a thing that chanyeol is trying to deal with. being in like with his not-jongdae best friend.

 

baekhyun stands up and he stands in front of chanyeol, like he’s got a spiel ready to convince chanyeol to marry him. 

 

“listen, yeol.” there it is, the nickname. chanyeol turns into a jelly at that nickname. baekhyun’s mouth just curls over the syllables so prettily. he’s such a gorgeous little thing, chanyeol’s baekhyun, even if he’s not really chanyeol’s. at least, not in the way that chanyeol wants.

 

“i just don’t—” baekhyun pauses and he swipes his pink tongue across his bottom lip. chanyeol’s weak against that too. in fact, he’s just weak for byun baekhyun in general. baekhyun stares at him, continuing, “i just don’t want you killing yourself over when there’s something we can do about it.”

 

“you’re talking about marriage!” chanyeol exclaims, standing up too. “marriage with me!”

 

baekhyun has the audacity to wink and he eyes chanyeol from head to toe. it has chanyeol flushing despite the fact that he knows it’s just a joke. 

 

“it’s not like i’m drawing the short end of the stick here.”

 

chanyeol gulps. baekhyun’s joking, of course, because he is _straight—_ unlike chanyeol. fuck his life, seriously.

 

“we’re not even together.” chanyeol’s trying to make baekhyun see reason here and it’s difficult because baekhyun is just trying to help chanyeol, really. not to mention the fact that chanyeol wants to get married to baekhyun, preferably when they are not committing fraud. 

 

“we don’t have to be together to get married,” baekhyun shrugs. chanyeol knows the other man has it bad because baekhyun’s quoting jongdae. he adds, “people who are not together get married all the time. like shotgun weddings or arranged marriages.”

 

and then chanyeol knows he’s got it bad because he’s seeing reason from baekhyun’s jongdae-fuelled spiel. 

 

baekhyun pouts some more and his eyes go a tad bit bigger. chanyeol is well and truly fucked and—

 

oh shit.

 

baekhyun gets down in one knee and he asks, “chanyeol, will you marry me?”

 

he sounds so serious—sincere. like he really wants to get married with chanyeol. baekhyun has this tiny smile, lips pressed together and quirked up and his eyes go a little lidded, soft and all sorts of beautiful. 

 

chanyeol looks down at baekhyun and curses inwardly. he also wants to curse outwardly but instead, he says, “okay.”

 

baekhyun _beams_ at him and chanyeol’s insides go a little haywire. he’s way past the butterflies in the stomach stage. in fact, he’s gone to actual literal dinosaurs, like jurassic park, except they’re rampaging all over his insides. 

 

and okay, maybe chanyeol’s lying a while ago. he’s not _in like_ with byun baekhyun. he’s _not just in like_ with byun baekhyun.

 

chanyeol’s in love with byun baekhyun—the foot-popping kind of love, maybe even the jongin-and-kyungsoo kind of love—and now chanyeol gets to marry byun baekhyun in a fake real ceremony because of a loophole in financial aid. 

 

this is, once again, all because of kim jongdae. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

chanyeol has never proposed and he has never been proposed to, save for what happened an hour ago, when byun baekhyun offers to defraud the government and the university for chanyeol’s sake. he’s not sure how most proposals end but what chanyeol is sure is that they end with significantly less clothes, preferably none at all.

 

but since baekhyun is offering a marriage of convenience, the two of them end up finishing applications and booking an appointment at the court and they’re now on the couch, cuddling, because baekhyun’s a puppy and chanyeol is a puppy and hugs and physical contact are bomb, okay, regardless of chanyeol’s feelings. 

 

baekhyun has both his legs up chanyeol’s lap and his head is resting on chanyeol’s shoulder— _like a bro_. so what? they’re a little codependent and chanyeol has never seen two men exchange affection like this, sans kyungsoo and jongin (who PDAs like crazy and that - that is something chanyeol does not even _dare_ to dream of with byun baekhyun). that does not make it better though because jongin and kyungsoo are, like, disgusting and disgustingly married and now chanyeol has to think of the M-word again which _no_. 

 

the older male pokes chanyeol in the rib and chanyeol fakes an _ouch,_ looking down at baekhyun and thinking, _wow i wanna stare at him for the rest of my life_ which is, first of all, creepy but also, true. chanyeol wants to look at baekhyun looking soft and comfortable against his side for the rest of his natural life.

 

“whatcha thinking?” baekhyun mumbles. it comes out like a coherent mess but chanyeol understands it anyway.

 

“nothing. just—” chanyeol wrangles his brain to come up with something that does not involve the letter Y and ends with an -OU. that’s just—no. he’s not about to be cheesy like that. besides, baekhyun won’t let him live that one down. “um… divorce?”

 

he blurts it out and he immediately curses _himself_ because that’s just no better that answering _you_ to baekhyun’s perfectly innocent question. 

 

if baekhyun hears the question mark in there, he doesn’t ask. instead, he says, “you haven’t made a good man out of me and you’re already thinking of divorce?”

 

chanyeol grins. this is easier to handle than his mess of feelings. 

 

“there’s no hope in making a good man out of you,” the taller male retorts. “you’re a hopeless case.”

 

“nah, man,” baekhyun shrugs. he looks up at chanyeol, through the thicket of his eyelashes, and chanyeol tries hard not to blush or gulp because that’s not bro behavior. baekhyun blinks thrice, making cutesy eyes, and in a voice so soft (and seductive, if chanyeol is allowed to say shit), he adds, “i could be so good for you. the best husband.”

 

and oh god, chanyeol may or may not have sprung a semi right then and there just from that alone—which, again, is not bro behavior. it’s not proper behavior, at all. 

 

he shakes his head and tries to look at anywhere, somewhere, that isn’t baekhyun’s beautiful eyes and pink lips. he settles on the frame on top of the side table bearing the picture from last halloween. it has jongdae in a marilyn monroe ensemble—thank god—and it kills any threat of boners, in an instant.

 

chanyeol coughs and gives an awkward laugh and he says, voice thick and maybe just a little bit nervous, “you’re gonna be the best husband i’ll ever have.”

 

and this - chanyeol can admit is his fault because the only thing he likes more than byun baekhyun, probably, is digging himself in a hole deeper than the last for byun baekhyun. 

 

baekhyun, thankfully, laughs. why—chanyeol has no clue but he’ll take it. 

 

“you’re marrying me,” baekhyun jokes. “bar’s not that high.”

 

chanyeol chuckles and he wraps baekhyun with one arm and pulls him closer to the side. he gives him a noogie on the temple instead of saying that _no, the bar won’t be low_. in fact, the bar might as well be non-existent like when limits don’t exist because chanyeol is sure that byun baekhyun is _it_ for him even if he isn’t byun baekhyun’s.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

that’s how jongdae, kyungsoo, and jongin discover the two of them—on the couch, sitting so close together. jongdae’s eyes flit from chanyeol and then to baekhyun and then to chanyeol again like he’s watching a tennis match, but with more feelings. 

 

his eyes go wide and baekhyun springs up, screaming, “chanyeol and i are getting married.”

 

this time, their other roommate’s eyes look like they’re about to pop out of their sockets. 

 

jongdae then says, “huh?” and chanyeol thinks, _same._

 

jongin gives an extremely heartfelt, “what the fuck.” before giving a Stare at chanyeol because he _knows_. 

 

and kyungsoo claps, exclaiming, “congratulations!” because he’s simple-minded.

 

“it’s fake marriage,” chanyeol calls out from the couch. “and move, jongdae, you’re blocking the tv.”

 

jongdae does not move so jongin, with eyes still boring holes on chanyeol’s face, pulls him just a little bit so chanyeol can watch the way the best friend pines over the drama’s heroine while lamenting ‘ _amen to that brother’_ since he knows that feeling too well. 

 

“what do you mean fake marriage?” kyungsoo asks. “can you be real together and be fake married?”

 

chanyeol chokes. jongin chokes. jongdae chokes. baekhyun guffaws.

 

“oh kyungsoo,” baekhyun sighs out fondly. kyungsoo’s, like, baekhyun’s younger brother. or his son. “chanyeol and i are not together. what do you mean?”

 

kyungsoo looks at jongin and jongin gives a subtle nod. kyungsoo’s eyebrows furrow before he frowns. the tallest of the five knows that the couple just had an entire conversation from that. 

 

“then why are you two getting married?”

 

“capitalism,” chanyeol shrugs. he stands up and goes to the fridge. he opens the door and curses because, yeah, they have no beer left. he settles for gatorade and it’s not even his favorite but beggars really can’t be choosers so he sucks it up and drinks it. 

 

he heads back to the living room and finds everyone settled down. baekhyun’s back where he has been and there’s a space for chanyeol near the arm rest. jongdae’s on the other side of baekhyun and kyungsoo’s on the single armchair. jongin’s sprawled on the floor by kyungsoo’s feet, head resting on kyungsoo’s thigh as he plays with kyungsoo’s free hand, the hand that’s not running through jongin’s long hair.

 

see, disgusting.

 

and chanyeol is so, so jealous. if baekhyun sits on his feet and plays with his hand like jongin is doing, he would have cried. 

 

“anyway, chanyeol and i are getting married,” baekhyun announces again. he says it like it’s normal to get married to your bro. it's funny but also, it hurts. baekhyun says it like it is not important. 

 

“fake married,” chanyeol interjects, swallowing the lump in his throat. jongdae, who has no regard for tension whatsoever, sprawls on top of his and baekhyun’s laps. 

 

“well, yeah.” he hears the frown in baekhyun’s voice. “chanyeol’s, like, in debt right now and the uni has this special financial aid, apparently, if you’re broke as hell and married.”

 

jongdae huffs and he says, “that’s unfair.”

 

“then get married too,” baekhyun suggests. chanyeol fears that by the end of this fraud, all of them will have spouses. 

 

“don’t want to—i’m not built for that type of social norm,” jongdae answers. he’s majoring in anthropology so of course, he knows shit like that. chanyeol trusts him.

 

“you’re heterosexual,” jongin points out. “you built that social norm.”

 

“touché,” jongdae shrugs before lifting his head a little. he adds lazily, “kyungsoo, will you marry me?”

 

kyungsoo laughs at him and he points his lips towards jongin, the overprotective idiot who’s glaring at jongdae from the floor. “you’ll have to fight this one for that.”

 

jongin just gives this - this glare at jongdae. and chanyeol laughs because all of them are scared of their youngest, really. jongin’s _built_ and he’s not above using that for some advantage.

 

“ugh,” baekhyun groans. he huddles close to chanyeol as if they really are a couple and not best friends. “can we get back to the topic of mine and chanyeol’s marriage?”

 

“are you having a wedding?” kyungsoo asks, hopeful. chanyeol is too but well, what’s the point? they’re doing this for financial aid. 

 

“babe,” jongin explains gently. his chin is resting on kyungsoo’s thigh. “they’re doing this for money—they’re not about to spend more on a wedding.”

 

“oh,” kyungsoo says, disappointed.

 

baekhyun immediately adds though, “we’re doing it in a courthouse.”

 

kyungsoo comes alive at that. “you need witnesses, right?”

 

chanyeol nods and jongdae says, “you need suits and rings.”

 

“uh… why?” chanyeol deadpans. 

 

“because you’re getting married!” kyungsoo enthuses. jongin just stares at his boyfriend before turning his attention to chanyeol. he’s looking at chanyeol again and the older male is not _that_ brave, he averts his eyes.

 

baekhyun puts on his thinking face which means chanyeol’s about to agree to something he doesn’t really want, all because the suggestion comes out of baekhyun’s pretty mouth.

 

“remember when we dressed up as mobsters for halloween junior year?” 

 

chanyeol does, in fact, remember. only because baekhyun manages to pilfer a fake cigar and he has spent the entire party trying to hide behind kyungsoo’s large cape to avoid being seen with the embarrassment of a boner. 

 

(also, jongin kind of decks him that night, half-drunk, because he thought chanyeol’s, like, some random dude rubbing himself on kyungsoo’s ass.)

 

“we’re not going to look like mobsters in our wedding,” chanyeol says. and then, amends, “fake wedding.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

they are, in fact, going to look like mobsters in their fake wedding but that’s only because baekhyun pulls out a pout and neither of them know anyone who owns a suit that’s chanyeol size. jongin can lend his to chanyeol since they’re almost the same height but the jacket will undoubtedly be a little big on him, enough to look awkward, because jongin’s got, like, mile-wide shoulders on top of having mile-long legs.

 

the world is unfair, really.

 

chanyeol has made peace with it. he’s made peace with a lot of things in his life so he’s now walking back to the apartment because he has a four-hour break—curse that professor who has literally sent a ‘ _see you next week, class’_ email thirty minutes before the class itself. 

 

so chanyeol’s walking downtown right now and normally, he’s going to rush home to take a nap or maybe head to kyungsoo and jongin’s flat because the both of them are loaded and they’re staying in a high-rise that has, like, a huge pool that tenants (and guests) can use. 

 

normally, too, chanyeol’s not one to pay attention to shop windows. for one, he’s broke. he can’t even afford to breathe at some of the stores here. but nothing about the rest of his life is going to be normal because chanyeol, in a few days, is going to be married to baekhyun—the guy he’s been pining for for maybe three years, four if there’s a gun pointed to his head.

 

and because nothing is normal anymore, when chanyeol passes by a jewelry shop, he pauses. there are bracelets and earrings on display but what catches chanyeol’s eyes are the fancy rings that the hand mannequin is wearing. 

 

they’re pretty.

 

chanyeol wants to blame jongdae for this and maybe jongdae is to be blamed, partially, because he’s chanyeol’s classmate to that cancelled class and everything could have been avoided if only he has just walked back to their shared flat together.

 

chanyeol enters. 

 

and immediately, he regrets it. he has a credit card, sure, and maybe he can ask to pay for a ring in installment but fuck, it’s a fake marriage. it’s a sham. chanyeol does not need to buy a ring for it, much less from a shop as nice as this one. 

 

but chanyeol, well, he wants this marriage to be real and maybe this is already his downfall, all on his own, because he heads to the counter and says, “um—can i—uh—see the rings? please?”

 

he sounds so unsure even to his own ears that he won’t sell a ring to _himself_ but the guy at the counter just gives him a look, like he’s not unused to college students walking into the jewelry place looking like they’re about to puke.

 

“which ones? do you have a style in mind?” the guy asks. he’s giving chanyeol the patented employee smile and somehow, it reassures chanyeol even if it’s fake as hell.

 

“i’m on a budget—” understatement. “—so if i could, you know? see the cheapest ones you got?”

 

he gives the guy a mental pat because he doesn’t look at chanyeol with judgment. instead, for some reason, his smile turns softer, less fake. like maybe he thinks chanyeol’s a dumb college student looking like he’s ready to puke, broke as hell with a hole in his wallet, but still buying a ring for the love of his life. 

 

which, really, isn’t that far off from the truth. in fact, that hits too close to home that chanyeol’s palm starts sweating. he wipes it down his jeans and fidgets around.

 

the guy comes back with a couple of selection and he smiles up at chanyeol, asking again, “are you getting an engagement ring or a wedding ring?”

 

“oh,” chanyeol says because apparently, there’s a distinction. he fiddles with the hem of his oversized gray shirt and replies, “wedding rings—um—” chanyeol gulps, mentally berating himself for what he’s about to do. “—matching wedding bands. please. um. thanks.”

 

the guy takes pity at him and he points towards a selection of rings, some silver, some gold, and some other metals that is way out of his budget, really.

 

“these are the cheapest ones,” the guy points towards a couple. “they’re made of silver—classic. i recommend these ones.” he points towards some bands that chanyeol has no hope of identifying which is which. they might as well be matching for all he cares.

 

“can i—” chanyeol fishes his phone out and lifts it. the guy takes the clue and gives him a smile, gesturing with his hand to a small lounge where chanyeol can sit down.

 

he scrolls through his contact list. he wants to call baekhyun but he also wants to do it together. he’s marrying the love of his life in a sham wedding and chanyeol pauses, almost crying, because he has just called baekhyun the love of his life. 

 

it’s—it’s whatever. chanyeol can deal. chanyeol _will_ deal. he has, like, an olympic gold medal in dealing, as if it’s actually a sport. he can handle feelings, hopefully. he’s been handling feelings since sophomore year.

 

chanyeol presses call and it connects. jongin’s voice filters out of the speakers as chanyeol’s palm becomes clammy once more.

 

“jongin, hey, dude,” he says. his voice is scratchy and he sounds like he’s about to drop dead. “where are you?”

 

“uh—” he hears jongin curse and the phone probably jostles by the sound of it. jongin’s probably driving or something, the rich bastard that he is. “kyungsoo’s making me get a couple of stuff from the grocery. why?”

 

good, chanyeol sighs. jongin’s alone. chanyeol loves kyungsoo but he’s not sure if the other guy can help with his problem.

 

“um, well. i’m buying a ring.”

 

there is a pause before a sharp “the fuck?” comes out from the other line.

 

“yeah,” chanyeol looks around the shop and he gives the name, like it’s a deep secret. “it’s near that coffee shop. you know, the one with, like, the ca—”

 

“the carrot cake that baekhyun likes, yes,” jongin finishes. “i know where that is. hold on a bit.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

jongin enters the shop and makes a beeline to chanyeol. his younger friend is wearing a pair of sweatpants and a dry fit shirt. jongin is done with his classes, most likely.

 

they exchange a bro fist and jongin asks, “dude, are you getting baekhyun a ring?”

 

chanyeol nods and he feels bile rise up high on his throat, bitter and sharp, before he gulps. jongin claps him on the shoulder before he stands up. the same male staff brings out the choices he has offered to chanyeol and he smiles at jongin, amicable. 

 

“so they got these rings,” chanyeol starts, gesturing. “i don’t know which ones to pick.” and then, because chanyeol is considerate and something’s been bugging him ever since, he adds, “sorry.”

 

jongin stares at him, incredulous, “what are you sorry for, man?” the younger shrugs, leaning in to inspect the rings like he has an experience. 

 

“i mean, it’s just—” chanyeol blows air, harsh and frustrated. “if anyone should be buying a ring here, it’s you.”

 

jongin turns to chanyeol and understanding dawns on his eyes before it shows on his face with a small smile. chanyeol has wanted to apologize for having this sham of a marriage when there is a couple in their friend group that, really, deserves marriage the most.

 

jongin, however, is full of surprises. he shrugs and the smile turns into a smirk before he says, “who says i haven’t bought a ring?”

 

chanyeol pauses and pauses before it sinks in. “holy shit.” he turns to jongin with wide eyes. “holy shit, dude. did you say what i thought you just did?”

 

“what did you think i just said?” jongin asks. the easiness by which he inspects the rings is scary and telling.

 

“did you buy kyungsoo a ring?”

 

“engagement,” jongin answers like it’s nothing but also, everything. “i haven’t proposed though. i’m just holding on to it.”

 

chanyeol stares, wide-eyed, before repeating, “ _holy shit_.”

 

admittedly, when they finally pick out and plain silver bands with a request for an engraving of _B &C_ inside because chanyeol is cheesy on top of being gay, something wedges in chanyeol’s stomach, or maybe in his heart. it’s a deep sinking feeling that he can’t quite place, like he’s between happiness and dread.

 

they wait for the rings and chanyeol watches as jongin spends the entire time on his phone. when he sneaks in a glance, he sees the younger male smiling like a fool at a selfie that kyungsoo has sent. 

 

and chanyeol maybe wants a foot-popping kind of love but, maybe, in the future, he can have a chance at a jongin-and-kyungsoo kind of love, too. maybe not with baekhyun but chanyeol will, of course, _deal_ ‘cause that’s what he’s been doing for years. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

chanyeol doesn’t go home after buying the rings. instead, he places the velvet bag (they’re not expensive enough to warrant a fancy box) with the two bands inside in his backpack. he finishes his class and almost forgets about the thing up until he walks inside the one-bedroom apartment he shares with his (future) husband.

 

his future husband, as chanyeol has suspected, is there. he’s not sure why he has expected baekhyun’s presence at home but he does make his way to the couch where baekhyun is looking stressed and harried, typing like a maniac on the keyboard of his laptop.

 

“baek,” chanyeol calls nervously. his palms are _fucking sweating_ when he sets his bag on the other side of his _fiancé—_ holy shit. 

 

“what’s it?” baekhyun mumbles. he makes a frustrated noise and his eyebrows furrow. chanyeol wants to smooth it out. 

 

he really is a goddamn idiot for this boy.

 

“i have — something.”

 

“what?” baekhyun replies. “speak properly, babe.”

 

chanyeol freezes up and he sees baekhyun freeze up, too. baekhyun has no excuse calling him babe. the older male does call his friends _babe_ sometimes but never chanyeol. never ever chanyeol.

 

baekhyun grins and shrugs. his broad shoulders are drawn in a tight line.

 

“gotta practice,” he laughs and brushes it off.

 

chanyeol’s—well—chanyeol is having an internal meltdown. the _babe_ will be stored in his mind for the rest of his natural life. preferably when he’s alone and with a bunch of tissues and some lube to wet his dick.

 

that’s incredibly inappropriate territory so chanyeol settles for wiping his palms down his jeans. he pulls his bag over his lap to hide maybe the beginnings of a semi.

 

chanyeol pulls the zipper open and he picks the velvet bag from there. he peeks to see baekhyun’s expression but he tenses up at the blank face of his best friend—who is also his future husband—who is also the object of his pining since the history of time.

 

“i got us—” he takes a deep breath, praying for strength. chanyeol does not pray, at all, but he figures if he is the type to pray, it will go down like this: _god—dude—let me not embarrass my fucking self in front of baekhyun._

 

“—i got us rings,” chanyeol whispers. he wonders if baekhyun hears but then there is the telltale sound of a sharp breath being drawn. it’s like pulling a bow, or strumming a string of a guitar that’s tuned too tight.

 

“you what?” baekhyun sounds incredulous. chanyeol finally gets the courage to look at the shorter man’s face.

 

baekhyun is blushing.

 

and, damn, he is so fucking beautiful that chanyeol, too, draws a breath—like pulling a bow, or strumming a guitar that’s tuned too tight. he doesn’t realize the similarity, too tired and too nervous.

 

chanyeol pulls the cord of the velvet bag and he tips it to his palm. the rings drop, one smaller than the other, and baekhyun scoots closer. his laptop is now on the floor.

 

baekhyun is too close, chanyeol thinks. he thinks he doesn’t mind too but he isn’t so sure because he cannot _think_ at all.

 

the smaller male picks one of the smaller ones and he just — he just slides it home. to his ring finger.

 

chanyeol doesn’t realize he is holding his breath until he exhales through his nose. 

 

baekhyun looks up at him and he smiles.

 

he smiles—it’s shaped like a rectangle and his eyes are in beautiful crescents. he is so beautiful, chanyeol thinks, _again_.

 

“it’s beautiful,” baekhyun says softly.

 

and chanyeol — chanyeol is just a man so he replies, looking at baekhyun’s face and at baekhyun’s smile and _at byun baekhyun in his entirety—_

 

“yeah. it is.”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i really really wanted to write a marriage of convenience. my internet is slow so i can't link the inspiration for this one but it's that viral text about "just two bros getting married" cos of like financial aid; i'll edit and link later once i got stable internet to look for it. anyway!!! when i wrote this i was torn between chanbaek or chanchen or baekchen (obviously the ot3 that **I** deserve) but i ended up settling for chanbaek cos i figured the ot3 will be more fun in the nhl verse.
> 
> so... first part is done!! 2nd part will be posted next week. i normally don't ask for comments but i'm kinda worried about this one, so feedbacks will be nice? i think HAHAHA


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